Drinking is not allowed in the military camp, but this only restricts ordinary soldiers. For someone of Su Dingfang's level, drinking is actually a very normal thing for him as long as he doesn't drink too much and delay things. This is also a habit inherited from Cheng Yaojin, and the soldiers below also accept it.
If you have no ability on the battlefield, even if you don't drink, the soldiers in the army will have no respect for you, because you are a useless person, so why should you lead them?
But if you take them to fight all over the country, and most of the battles are won, general military regulations will be of no use to you. Even if you violate the military regulations, the soldiers will still regard you as their military god. This has been proven by the older generation of generals in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, no matter where Su Dingfang went, there was a carriage dedicated to carrying wine for him.
"Master Zhao, I bought all this wine myself. How much does the Tang Dynasty Tianniang cost? You've come from Chang'an City, so you're definitely familiar with it. These are all one-star quality, and each jin costs thirty strings of cash."
Su Dingfang had already reached the tent door when he suddenly turned around. "This is for our Tang Dynasty. Why should I pay for it myself?" He didn't know General Moren's alcohol tolerance, but judging by his size, he knew he must have drunk a lot. Besides, they sent so many things. Shouldn't you give them some before you leave? It's rude not to reciprocate. We, the Tang Dynasty generals, can't let others say we're stingy.
"General Su, what do you mean by that? Don't tell me how much this wine costs. I don't care. General Mo Lun has made it clear that they paid for it out of their own pocket as a gift to us. We in the Tang Dynasty must be equal to them. You should also pay for their gifts out of your own pocket. This way, you can better build relationships and better understand the situation of the Xueyantuo in their country."
Lord Zhao came from Chang'an City. If it comes to fighting on the battlefield, even if this guy brings all his ancestors, they are still no match for Su Dingfang. But if it comes to talking, even if Su Dingfang's ancestors come for eighteen generations, they are still no match for Lord Zhao.
So as soon as Su Dingfang started talking, Lord Zhao knew what he wanted to say. You want us, the Lifanyuan, to listen to your account. There is no such thing in the world. What's more, the Lifanyuan is extremely poor and not as rich as your military. So before Su Dingfang could finish talking to him, Lord Zhao had already disappeared in the tent.
"This old man is such a thief..."
No matter how much people talk or scold, there is still a lot to do. Su Dingfang asked someone to bring two jars of wine and sent someone to deliver a message over there. It is almost time for dinner now, so let's go to the center of the two armies to exchange feelings.
General Moren was preparing to have dinner with Wadahan. After hearing about this, he immediately came over with their golden roasted lamb. This was prepared by his famous chef. Together with some green vegetables made by Su Dingfang's men, a table of food and wine was quickly put together. Green vegetables are nothing in Chang'an City. Even ordinary people can eat them every day. But if they were on the grassland, these things would be considered precious, because green vegetables don't grow here.
The brand of Datang Tianniang has already spread. Not only the people in Chang'an City like to drink it, but also the nobles of the surrounding countries. They also like to drink this kind of wine. When General Moren heard that this was a one-star Datang Tianniang, he became even more excited. Without saying anything, he drank three or two taels of wine.
This kind of wine costs thirty strings of coins per pound in Chang'an City, which is not cheap.
But it is even more expensive in Gaochang. According to General Moren, the price per catty of this thing has increased twenty times in Gaochang.
"Six hundred strings of cash?"
Su Dingfang thought she had heard it wrong.
"General Su heard correctly. This is the price in our Gaochang Kingdom. Even if you can afford it, you can't buy it. The goods coming in every year are too small. Don't underestimate our Western Regions. Although our population is not as large as your Tang Dynasty, we have no shortage of wealthy people here."
General Moren was telling the truth. The situation here was slightly better than in Tubo. There were still many civilians, but there were still many slaves. They worked from morning to night and did not get a penny in the end. The social value they created all belonged to the tribal chief, who had plenty of money.
“I can’t believe the price is so high.”
Su Dingfang said this while shaking his head. He knew that all the major families were snatching wine from Chang'an City. After snatching the wine, they did not sell it in other places, but transported it all to the countries surrounding the Tang Dynasty. At that time, he thought these people were crazy. After all, after they snatched the wine, they could get one to two times the profit by selling it on the spot in Chang'an City.
Now I finally understand, what is the double profit that others don't even care about? In their eyes, the major families have caravans heading to the surrounding countries. As long as this wine is loaded onto the caravan and shipped to the surrounding countries, the profit will be ten or twenty times.
"It's still okay here. If it were in Western Turkestan, the price would be twice as high as ours."
Before Su Dingfang could come to his senses, he suddenly heard these words: to the north and west of Gaochang Kingdom was the largest Western Turkic Khaganate. This area was sparsely populated. When the Turkic Khaganate split, some Turkic nobles were unwilling to submit to the Tang Dynasty, so they brought their soldiers to the west and established the vast territory of Western Turkic Khaganate, including part of present-day Central Asia.
"Didn't the Xueyantuo people bring anything with them when they came here?"
The two men had already drunk half a pound of wine, and their faces were flushed, so Su Dingfang began to test them.
"When those guys left, they brought nothing but gold and silver. They showered us with gifts. Otherwise, how could we let them in? We all hope to be friends with the Tang Dynasty, but unfortunately, our king was deceived by them..."
General Moren had already drunk some wine, but he remembered what Wadahan had asked him to memorize. Wadahan had told him that even if he had forgotten his own mother, he must not forget these words. He had to recite them word for word to General Datang. This was the main purpose of doing these things.